Colonel Eugene Khrushchev: Between Bullocks & Chickenhawks!

Despite the monumental snow job by the White House to carefully craft and spin the image of the US president as cerebral & aloof 'no drama Obama', his modus operandi has generated a pileup of smoldering snafus in domestic & foreign policy. The dolorous drama for Obama was, that 'hiding from behind', he outsourced his presidential prerogatives in word affairs to Clinton clan consiglieres and bushwhacking Tampa centric generals. But that was then, and it's never again! The three musketeers. The White House nominations of John Kerry followed by John Brennan and Chuck Hagel to man the State Department, CIA & DOD, if they survive piranha pack PR attack and sail unharmed through Congress crucible, would be nifty tour de force to install US foreign policy tight triumvirate. In the ensuing fracas around the candidates for top posts at Langley and the Pentagon, the question - who pulled it off, POTUS or Veep, is not as obvious as it might seem to be. The king and the cardinal. Yes, Barak Obama brought Joe Biden on board, but it was The Bidenator who had the prescience and cojones to fight an uphill battle against the surge malarkey in favor of counter terrorism light footprint in Pakistan & Afghanistan. Back then it was a forlorn solo mission: Ol' Joe was ridiculed by Coindinistas, and sidelined by the rookie Appeaser in chief who, after 3 months of sit on the pants 'analysis', caved in and, to avoid the accusations of being soft on defense, tripled US boots on the ground in the 'war of necessity' in Afghanistan. Obama's aversion to military escalation was palpable even before he moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but that decision, contrary to his instincts could be explained if not justified on 2 grounds: It grated the top brass the last chance to play & prove the COIN remake. The evolving Commander in chief got enough breathing space and political clout to come up with his Plan B for tactical or even strategic adjustment of US power projection.